Japanese crochet books ROCK

Last November when I went to visit my family in Japan, I had a hard time withholding from buying every single craft book in the country. I really did. All the books I looked at were AMAZING, and the patterns were for things that were either sooooo cute (kawaii!) or just plain practical and wearable. So needless to say I came home with half a suitcase full of yarn, books and accessories - adorable handles for handbags and whatnot. Lots of whatnot. By far my favourite book has to be the rather wonderfully titled 'Happy Small Goods of Crochet', in which I really want to make every single thing. From slippers to shawls to bowls, book covers, bags, hats and loads more. The really cool thing is that Japanese crochet patterns are pictorial rather than written out in sentences, so as long as you know what the stitches look like when drawn, you can follow the patterns... although being able to read hiragana/katakana does come in handy.

My first project from the book I started while I was there, using a Japanese yarn which is also wonderfully titled: it's called James Dean. What this rebel without a cause had to do with wool is beyond me, but he looks good on a label regardless. Here's the finished result:

When I get a chance, I think I will line it with the denim bits I had leftover from  making the crochet bowl from jeans. Since I didn't use the 'bum' from the jeans, I think I can sew those 'cheeks' together to make a liner for the bag that incorporates the back pockets for handy storage. Sweet.